Thursday, April 17, 2008

Eco-anxiety

I thought I’d blogged enough for one day until I ran across this piece from Fox News. Many leaders in medicine are shaming us about global warming and related environmental issues. It’s even been suggested that psychiatrists subordinate the mental health of their patients to the health of the planet:

Therefore, instead of using psychiatric insight and techniques to reduce excessive anxiety, shame, and guilt for global warming these emotions will need to be increased in the unconcerned. This kind of 'help' runs counter to our usual goal of not making people feel worse!

Well, it’s working. The incidence of eco-anxiety appears to be rising. One sufferer is profiled in the Fox piece:

Sarah Edwards worries about the gasoline she burns, the paper towels she throws out, the litter on the beach, water pollution. She worries so much, it literally makes her sick.

The treatment? Hug a tree, take shorter showers, among other measures. Learn more at Sarah’s blog.